Monkfruit

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Monkfruit
Monkfruit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Siraitia
Species:
S. grosvenorii
Binomial name
Siraitia grosvenorii
Synonyms[1]

Momordica grosvenorii

Monkfruit sweetener

The monkfruit, or luohan guo (Siraitia grosvenorii) is a herbaceous plant from the gourd family. It is native to southern China and northern Thailand. The plant is used to get something called mogroside, which is sweeter than table sugar.[2] It has been used as a low-calorie sweetener for drinks and in traditional Chinese medicine.

Overview[change | change source]

The plant is a vine which is about 3-5m long. The narrow, heart-shaped leaves are 10–20 cm long. The fruit is round, 5–7 cm in diameter, smooth, yellow-brownish or green-brownish in color.

The fleshy inside of the fruit is eaten, and the rind is used for making tea. The fruit is mostly known for being very sweet.[3]

References[change | change source]

  1. "The Plant List".
  2. Itkin, M.; Davidovich-Rikanati, R.; Cohen, S.; Portnoy, V.; Doron-Faigenboim, A.; Oren, E.; Freilich, S.; Tzuri, G.; Baranes, N.; Shen, S.; Petreikov, M.; Sertchook, R.; Ben-Dor, S.; Gottlieb, H.; Hernandez, A.; Nelson, D. R.; Paris, H. S.; Tadmor, Y.; Burger, Y.; Lewinsohn, E.; Katzir, N.; Schaffer, A. (2016). "The biosynthetic pathway of the nonsugar, high-intensity sweetener mogroside V from Siraitia grosvenorii". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113 (47): E7619–E7628. doi:10.1073/pnas.1604828113. PMC 5127336. PMID 27821754.
  3. "Luo Han Guo: Sweet fruit used as sugar substitute and medicinal herb". www.itmonline.org. Retrieved 2021-08-19.